Before you leave the city of Ding Dong Dell, you might want to check out any side-quests in Swift Solutions or spend some money at the Weapons Store, or refill your provisions at the Hootique.

Leaving from the bridge, you’ll begin your true adventure proper. There’s plenty to learn and see still ahead, so it’s not a bad idea to spend time doing side-quests in Ding Dong Dell. With some work, you can fill up your first merit stamp card.

Out of the city, you can find the Golden Grove southwest on the map. It’s a calm path to the forest.

In the Golden Grove, save your game before going too deep. Down the main path, the road splits left and right. Turn right to fight a tyke and a treasure chest.

The tykes are very similar to the mite. They can be quite tough, so magic does good against these little buggers.

Left, you’ll find the main path. There’s some more tough opponents here. Keep your health up, and keep moving until you reach a cluster of giant mushrooms.

Past the ‘shrooms, you’ll face a Pom Pom and a Worker Bumbler. Whenever you face off against multiple enemies like this, use your Mite’s Cut Loose trick, then finish off the Pom Pom.

The Worker Bumbler is a plant-type, which means Oliver’s Fireball will do bonus damage to the little guy. Take out the Pom Pom, then switch to Oliver and let him handle that Worker.

To travel deeper into the forest, use the stacks of mushrooms to climb up.

Beware the Incy, these monsters have high attack and high defense. To defeat them, try using Oliver’s Fireball. Two or three Fireballs can quickly defeat these creatures.

Up the first mushrooms, take the left path ahead, and turn left again, using the mushrooms to go up. Ahead, you’ll find something off – what looks like a wrecked robot. Nearby is a treasure chest with a set of Beast Fangs.

The Beast Fangs improve attack. Give them to your Thumbelemur, Oliver won’t be using many close-range attacks yet.

Return to the first set of mushrooms, and take the right path. Skip the next set of mushrooms, they don’t lead to anything, and continue toward the gold star.

The forest opens up soon, but you can follow a straight path straight toward the star if you want. We suggest doing some extra exploring first, there are lots of hidden areas in the forest. Just look on your map for any uncovered territory.

At the gold star, found by running through several dirt paths, you’ll discover a very strange tree. Examine it with [X] to see that it’s actually a Familiar egg! After the conversation, run up to the tree and use the Rejuvenate spell.

A new Familiar will pop out! You can’t bring this little guy with you, say hello, then return back down the path you came to the branching copse earlier.

On your way, the little Familiar will return. And it looks like he wants to show you something, so follow him! He’ll lead you back to some mushrooms, and into a dead-end.

Talk to the little Familiar to gain the Quicken Growth spell! The seed sprite will also join up with you, giving Oliver his third combat familiar.

The seed sprite has the Evade ability, instead of the Defend ability. They’re similar, but Evade lasts for only a short time and lets you escape any damage.

Like all your new Familiars, you won’t want to use them right away. The seed sprite is too weak to use in combat, so keep him on the bleachers until he’s about the same level as the rest of your heroes.

Work your way to the gold star – but you’ll find the path blocked. The mushrooms aren’t grown enough to let Oliver jump across them. Luckily, you have just the spell to fix this problem.

Open your spellbook near the unusable mushrooms, then use Quicken Growth. The shrooms will fully grow, and you can jump up to the ledge above.

It’s just a straight path to the exit of the forest. Stop at the waystone to heal up and save before running down the hill to the small fountain. Be prepared for danger.

BOSS: Gladiataur

The Guardian of the Golden Grove is one nasty looking minotaur. Like the first two bosses, you’ll want to stay out of his range when you can. Choose Oliver first.

Stay away, and play it safe to feel the boss out. Use Fireball of Frostbite to whittle away the giant’s health.

His most dangerous attacks are the Savage Swipe and Everblade. Savage Sword is easy to dodge with any character, but when you see the word balloon announce Everblade, you’ll want to Defend.

To avoid taking damage from Everblade, switch to your seed sprite and use Evade. Just remember that the timer for Evade is very short, so only use it right as the Gladiataur finishes charging Everblade.

Keep running circles around the brute with Oliver, using Fireball or Frostbite while collecting blue glims dropped by Drippy.

Once the boss is below half health, he’ll drop he weapons and only use close-range attacks. Keep up your long-range work with spells.

At about a quarter of his health, the boss will charge! Defend, quickly! If you’re able, the Gladiataur will be stunned.

This is your chance to end the battle! Attack with everything you’ve got. Switch to your mite or thumbelemur until a gold glim pops out of the stunned boss.

Grab that gold glim to unlock a Miracle Move. Use the Miracle Move, and you’ll have this fight finished.

After the battle, use the Rejuvenate spell on the dried up spring. With the forest restored, you can leave and continue on your quest to Al Mamoon.

Back in the Overworld, Drippy suggests skipping the dangerous monsters roaming about. That’s a good idea, these critters are tough. Try to avoid them as you cross the grasslands towards the desert.

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